Marahau

Marahau is small — a road, a handful of places to eat, and a lot of kayaks — but it is where an Abel Tasman trip begins. The Coast Track starts at the northern end of the village, and the water taxis leave from the beach on tractors, which is a sight in itself the first time you see it.

Base yourself here for two or three nights and you can do the park in day trips: a taxi up to Anchorage or Bark Bay in the morning, then walk back along the coast to Marahau in the afternoon. That gets you the best of the track without carrying a pack or booking huts months in advance.

The campgrounds sit close to the water with the estuary in front and the hills behind. It is roughly an hour from Nelson and worth arriving in daylight — the last stretch is narrow and winding.